(NewsNation) — Droves of travelers are hitting the road or taking to the sky for spring break, causing chaos from the beaches to the airports.
It’s a sign of pent-up demand as people are now traveling after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
And when there is time off from school or work and even as the upcoming summer travel season ramps up, well, things can get wild.
The party is back this year along Florida’s beaches, with loud music, drinking and uncontrollable crowds.
In Miami Beach, the largest crowds since the pandemic caused some major problems for police.
Police say they confiscated 75 guns in just two days after shots rang out on a busy Panama City Beach street.
“If I sound angry, it’s because I am,” Panama City Beach Police Chief J.R. Talamantez said. “I’m upset that I have to stand up here, I’m upset they have to stand up here. I’m upset that I’m looking at all these weapons that we found on my beach.”
But problems are not limited to Florida.
In Austin, Texas, rental cars were abandoned in the streets near the airport because of long waits.
Following a weekend of big-ticket events, rental car companies didn’t have enough employees to handle the returns. So travelers left their cars along the curb, keys in the ignition, and walked to the terminal.
Once there, ticketing and security lines were more than two hours long.
Long lines inside the airport created long lines outside as queues for TSA were reportedly out the door. Some travelers were made to wait hours, sometimes missing flights and being forced to make alternate arrangements.
Clint Henderson, managing editor with The Points Guy website, says to expect to see more of what happened in Austin at airports across the country this summer.
“Whenever you see outsized demand like spring break, you’re having a meltdown if the amount of employees is not there to satisfy that demand,” he said.
“Pack your patience,” Henderson added as “demand is on fire.”
Are travel companies ready for the surge in travelers?
“The short answer is no, they’re not,” Henderson said. “You’re seeing demand levels even higher than pre-pandemic in some cases, especially domestic.”
The problem, as in so many other industries, is a lack of qualified, trained employees, according to Henderson.
“Not only do you have more demand than pre-pandemic levels, but you have staffing levels that are much less than pre-pandemic, so when the two meet, we see disasters like what happened in Austin,” he said.
The Austin airport is also negotiating a fuel shortage right now as it hasn’t had enough to meet demand, sometimes asking for planes to come in with more fuel than they usually carry.
It could certainly shape up to be an uncomfortable summer of travel.
The Points Guy recommends booking any trips now, as they’re seeing prices go up monthly by almost 7% as demand surges.